Study: Carbohydrates May Be Link to Cause of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Naturally occurring carbohydrates found in the body may prove to be an important link to the cause of rheumatoid arthritis, according to researchers at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Researchers speculated that a particular class of carbohydrates, known as glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), triggered an immune response in the body. GAGs are a major component of joint cartilage, joint fluid, connective tissue and skin. Researchers studied the effects GAGs had on mice that subsequently developed arthritic symptoms such as swelling, inflammation, and joint damage.

"This study shows that rheumatoid arthritis may result from the body's mishandling of its own carbohydrates that, under normal circumstances, would not be interpreted as a threat," said Dr. Julia Ying Wang, Assistant Professor of Medicine.

"We found that inflammatory cells that accumulate in arthritic joints attach themselves directly to the glycosaminoglycans. This accumulation of cells leads to painful inflammation and swelling in the affected tissue," she told the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Researchers also examined human tissue taken from arthritis patients and found the same type of glycosaminoglycan-binding cells in the human tissue.

"It leads us to believe that rheumatoid arthritis may be an unusual immune response," said Wang.

Researchers will now focus on the development of drugs to stop the growth, expansion, or adhesion of immune cells that react to glycosaminoglycans.

"This research is extremely promising," said John Mekalanos, Professor and Chairman of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. "This study also suggests plausible models for how bacterial infection might trigger arthritis and how we might go about reversing this debilitating condition with new therapies. We are clearly a stop closer to understanding the causes of a disease that has left the medical community with unanswered questions and many patients with discomfort and pain."

Other sources: Ameriican Chemical Society